Sanchez William Genia (born 17 January 1988) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, currently playing scrum-half for the

Kintetsu Liners Hanazono Kintetsu Liners are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team. Their home is at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, which was also ...

in Japan. He had previously played

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

for the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

(2007–2015) and

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...

(2018–2019). He also had previously played for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

in France's

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

from 2015 to 2017. Born in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, Papua New Guinea, he played for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at international level from 2009 to 2019. Genia made his test debut against New Zealand, and went on to earn 110 international caps. Former New Zealand scrum-half

Justin Marshall Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005. Marshall played for the in the Super Rugby, Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning ...

said Genia was "best in the world for his position".

Family and early life

Genia was born in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. He was introduced to rugby union when he moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia at the age of 12 for his secondary education at

Brisbane Boys' College Brisbane Boys' College (BBC) is an independent, Presbyterian and Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

, boarding at the school from 2000 to 2005. Genia played rugby for the Australia 'A' Schoolboys team in 2005, and was part of the Australian Under 19 rugby team that won the IRB World Championship in 2006. Genia's

Papua New Guinean Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

father, Kilroy Genia, is a former

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the Papua New Guinean government. His

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

mother, Elizabeth Genia, was appointed assistant governor and later Governor at the

Bank of Papua New Guinea The Bank of Papua New Guinea () is the central bank of Papua New Guinea, which has a core mandate to ensure price stability and maintain macroeconomic growth. To achieve this, it discharges four main functions; 1. responsible for the formulation ...

in 2011. His older brother,

Frank Genia Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...

, plays international rugby union for Papua New Guinea Pukpuks . Despite playing 110 tests for Australia and having lived in Australia since he was 12, Genia does not hold Australian citizenship, owing to him playing professional rugby union overseas and the legal requirement for applicants to not have been absent from the country for more than 12 months in total in the four-year period, including no more than 90 days in total in the 12-month period prior to application.

Rugby union career

Genia was recruited to the

from the

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

club at the end of 2006 before their tour to Japan and obtained his first state cap for the Reds playing against Japan.

2007–2010

Genia made his

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

debut for the Reds as a 19-year-old against the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

in Brisbane on 3 February 2007. He shared the scrum half position with starting halfback for most of the season, appearing in 11 of 13 matches for the Reds during the season. Later in 2007, Genia played for the

Ballymore Tornadoes Brisbane City is an Australian rugby union football team based in Brisbane that competed in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team is one of two Queensland sides in the competition, the other being . Brisbane City is organised and manage ...

in the

Australian Rugby Championship The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, was a domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ran for onl ...

, appearing in all 8 games played by the team for the year. In 2008, Genia added a further seven Super Rugby Caps (although only one starting) for the Reds. He was selected as the first choice scrumhalf for the Australian Under 20 team for the 2008 IRB Junior World Cup in Wales. Genia played in eight Super Rugby matches in 2009, half of which were starting appearances, and scored four tries during the tournament but missed Queensland's final two matches of the season due to an injured finger tendon. Genia was selected in the Wallabies squad for the 2009 Tri Nations and made his test debut against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

in Auckland on 18 July 2009. He came off the bench in the first four matches before getting starting berths against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in Brisbane, and against the All Blacks in Wellington. Genia then started in all five Tests of Australia's Spring Tour of Japan and Europe, before staying on at the tour's end to help the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

beat the All Blacks at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. In 2010, Genia captained the Reds, after regular captain

James Horwill James Horwill (born 29 May 1985) is an Australians, Australian former rugby union player, who has played for the Australian national rugby union team, Australian national side, with 61 caps to his name. He captained the Wallabies a number of tim ...

suffered an injury in the second match of the season. At the end of the season Genia was voted by his teammates as the 2010 players' player of the year and he won the

Pilecki Medal The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

. He was also voted the fans' player of the year, winning the People's Choice award.

2011–present

Genia won the Pilecki Medal again in 2011, and was voted the Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year by Australian rugby writers. He became the 78th Test captain of the Wallabies when he led the side against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. He was one of two Australian nominees, alongside David Pocock, for the 2011

IRB Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an award presented annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It is given to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". First presente ...

award. In April 2012, he signed a new three-year deal with the Reds after turning down a lucrative offer from the

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

. In early September Genia suffered a knee injury in Australia's win over South Africa. Genia missed eight Tests in a row and didn't expect to return to domestic action until the Reds play the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

in Brisbane on 23 March 2013. It was rumoured that Genia was leaving Australia after the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

, possibly going to the English Club Bath, but he left Australia at the start of the 2015–16 season to play for

. On 15 August 2017, Genia signed with the

for the 2018 and 2019 Super Rugby seasons. On 24 November 2018, Genia became just the 10th Wallaby and the second Wallabies halfback after

George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a former rugby union player who played as scrum-half. Born in Lusaka, Zambia, Gregan represented Australia at an international level, and is Australia's second most capped player. He played S ...

to play 100-Tests for

; playing against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

. On 12 July 2019, Genia announced his test rugby retirement stating that he will not play for the Wallabies after the 2019 Rugby World Cup having signed to play for

in Japan.

Super Rugby statistics

Outside rugby

Genia is an ambassador for

The Kokoda Track Foundation The Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) is an international aid organisation working in Papua New Guinea. The foundation was established in 2003 and supports the indigenous people of that country. The Foundation provides education, health, equality and ...

.Ambassador: Will Genia
Kokoda Track Foundation. 2012.

Honours

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Centurion *

** Tri-Nations:

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

**Wallabies Captain 2011-2013 **Test Rugby Centurion

Reference list

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Genia, Will 1988 births Living people Papua New Guinean rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australian rugby union players Australia national rugby union team captains Queensland Reds players Brisbane City (rugby union) players Rugby union scrum-halves Papua New Guinean emigrants to Australia People educated at Brisbane Boys' College Sportspeople from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) Rugby union players from Brisbane Stade Français Paris players Australian expatriate rugby union players in France Melbourne Rebels players Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan Hanazono Kintetsu Liners players Australian people of Papua New Guinean descent 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Australian sportsmen